Noel Furlong proud of Cork U20s controlling the controllables

The possible outcomes were many and varied ahead of Cork’s Fulfil Munster U20HC clash with Clare on Wednesday evening – the one that materialised means the counties must mean again next week.

With Limerick and Waterford eliminated, the top three of Cork, Clare and Tipperary were guaranteed progression to the knockout section, but with the order to be determined.

While Cork’s 4-19 to 2-21 victory at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh put them ahead of Clare, Tipp’s big win over Limerick meant a three-way tie with the Premier County benefiting from the best scoring difference to advance straight to the final.

Cork and Clare will play off at the Páirc on Wednesday to see who joins them and manager Noel Furlong was delighted with how his team fared in terms of doing what was within their own control.

“That's it,” he said, “and the first night coming away, if you told us we were going to have six points in the bag and a home semi-final, we'd have taken your hand off.

“I suppose it's just disappointing that Limerick rested a number of their more established players in the other game and that looked like it turned into a no-contest.

“But all we could do was focus on our job, and I suppose executing what we had to do here, and that's exactly what we did. Results didn't go for us in the other contest, but that is what it is.

“But we've another great contest here now to look forward to next week.”

Barry Walsh scored 1-5, including Cork’s final two points as Clare pushed for a draw that would have put them top.

The Killeagh man missed the win away to Waterford as it came just four days before the senior championship opener against Tipperary. Next week’s semi falls just three days prior to Ben O’Connor’s side travelling to face Waterford and Furlong is unsure if the attacker will be available.

“I don't know what's going to happen,” he said, “so we'll have to see, we were just focusing on the Clare game.

“Barry's been exceptional for us, any time he's been available.

“You see him performing at senior level, so Barry would have expected of himself to perform at U20 level as well.

“He was being double-marked at different stages and he still stood up and got the scores, took the punishment, he's a credit to himself and we're delighted to have him.”

With or without Walsh for the rematch, Cork will look to create goal openings – both home matches in the round-robin yielded four green flags each.

“Yeah, and look, we've been bringing that into the lads all year and we're the top goalscorers in the competition,” Furlong said.

“It's something we want to have as a hallmark of our team and you saw it there, we got a good few goals and we left more after us, so it's something we'll continue to encourage them to do.

It's very much letting them make the decisions themselves – we have a framework but at the same time, if there is a freedom, if they see an opportunity, they go for it, and if you look back through all of our games, that has been the case.

“We've had a lot of attacks from defenders, and even our inside backs as well – Denis Fitzgerald set up two goals against Limerick, so that's all part of the game.

“But that's just hurling; you see that as part of the game now, it's just so fluid.”